Bargain Hunt
Bargain Hunt is a game show where contestants buy antiques, and then auction them for profit. Format The show has undergone various format and rule changes since its premiere. Most episodes are 45 minutes in length, though 30-minute versions and one-hour "live" editions have also been produced. Two teams (designated the Reds and the Blues) compete. Each team has two members, who wear fleeces that correspond to their team's colour. The contestants in most episodes are members of the public, though some shows feature teams of celebrity players instead. At the beginning of the show, each team is given a set amount of money with which to purchase antiques. The objective is to find items that will earn the team a profit when later sold at auction. Each team is accompanied by an antiques trade expert, though it is the contestants' decision whether to heed the advice given by their expert. After the contestants have completed their purchases and presented them to the host, home viewers are shown a "what the auctioneer thinks" segment in which the auctioneer appraises the buys and gives the auction estimate. At the auction, as each item is sold, the host compares the auction sale price to the price originally paid by the team, with the difference being either subtracted from or added to the team's total. If the final total shows a profit, the team receives that profit in cash; otherwise, the team receives nothing. The profit/loss does not take into account commission (buyers' premium) or VAT. The show is punctuated by footage of the host visiting a place of historical interest, such as a stately home or museum, and talking about the items housed there. In the early David Dickinson-era episodes, teams were given £200 each, and could buy as many or as few items as they liked within the hour given to wander around a trade fair. The item rule was later changed so that teams have to buy three items. After Tim Wonnacott became host, the money was increased to £300, and a new feature called the "swap item" was introduced. Each expert chose an item of their own, and the team could replace one of their own choices with the "swap item" if they wished to. The host, when offering the option to a team, would often ask, "Swap or No Swap?" Originally, the experts were given an unspecified amount of money to buy the extra item; the rule was later changed so that the experts could only use whatever money was left of the team's £300 budget (the remaining money was referred to by Wonnacott as the "leftover lolly"). Under the revised rule, if a team used its entire budget, the expert could not choose a "swap item". The "swap" rule was changed again in 2006 (Series 14), becoming the "bonus buy". The expert is still given any "leftover lolly" to buy this bonus item, which is entered into the auction. Just after the auction of their own items, and before that of the bonus item, teams must decide whether the auction results of the bonus item should be added to their own auction lots. Teams can potentially add to their profit with the bonus item, but it can also subtract from a team's earnings if it loses money. In a series in 2014, an alternative bonus item was purchased by the expert with "Tim's Ton", (£100 provided by Tim). The teams then had to decide on whether to select the 'team's bonus buy' (bought with the leftover lolly), Tim's bonus buy (bought with Tim's ton) or neither. Tim would also make his prediction as to which bonus buy would make the larger profit or smaller loss (which he called Wonnacott's winner). In Series 52 in 2019 a change of the rules, they added two rules called 'The Big Spend Challenge and the Guest Presenter's challenge'. The teams have to spend at least £75 on one of their items and it's challenged by the expert of the guest presenter's choice. The teams have to open the envelopes, one that says 'The Big Spend Challenge', and one that says 'The Buying Challenge', and the teams have to read the envelope to tell the expert what it said on the envelope (it could be sporting memorabilia, drinking glasses and loads more). Before heading to the auction, to recap after selling three items weather the teams go with the bonus buy or not. The teams don't know what the total current profit/loss is. One team's target is going to be with the bonus item score and the teams watch the auction clip on the tablet to see if they sold the bonus item and the team with the most current profit/loss wins. On average, the majority of contestants' items lose money: the teams are paying retail prices at fairs, whereas auction prices are generally lower. Large profits are fairly rare, though it is not particularly unusual for contestants to take home a small profit. Teams achieving the difficult feat of earning a profit on all three items are awarded a "golden gavel", originally a wooden trophy, but latterly a lapel pin. History Bargain Hunt was a daytime show when it launched in 2000 with game host David Dickinson. Later, a primetime version (also hosted by Dickinson), was also made (2002–2004), which was similar to the daytime show except that the teams' budget was increased to £500. It was on this version of the show that the record was set for the greatest profit earned in the programme's history. A team led by Michael Hogben purchased a Royal Worcester box at Ardingly Fair for £140; the item made £800 in the live primetime auction. When Dickinson gave up the daytime show to concentrate on the primetime version, his place was taken by Tim Wonnacott, an antiques expert already well-known to UK viewers as a long-standing expert on the Antiques Roadshow. In April 2005 it was announced that the primetime version of Bargain Hunt had been axed; however the daytime version continued. Reruns of the daytime version (from the Dickinson era) also appear on BBC Entertainment and BBC America. Several episodes recorded in late 2014 were presented by Anita Manning, Charlie Ross, Christina Trevanion, Natasha Raskin, Charles Hanson, and Paul Laidlaw, whilst Wonnacott took part in the BBC 1 entertainment programme Strictly Come Dancing. Series 41, Episode 22 saw the first-ever time two teams of twins competed against each other. The red team (Polly Weighill & Gemma Weighill) emerged victorious over the blue team (Martin Sansom & Russell Sansom) at Ardingly Antiques and Collectors Fair in West Sussex. Category:Lifestyle Category:Antiques Category:Shows currently in production Category:Long-Running Category:BBC Shows Category:2000 premieres Category:2002 premieres Category:2004 endings